


A Rogues Reunion

by Miko



Series: The Difference Between [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Best Friends, Crimes & Criminals, F/M, M/M, Memory Loss, Past Brainwashing, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-07 06:29:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14665248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miko/pseuds/Miko
Summary: Meeting Felicity and falling in love with her was already one of the best things that had ever happened to Steve Rogers. Now she's given him a present beyond measure: his first solid lead to the whereabouts of his best friend, Bucky Barnes. All the signs point to him having been in Central City just a few months before, and somehow, it appears he's gotten tangled up with an ice-wielding metahuman.Luckily, Steve knows just who to ask when it comes to the metahumans in Central. What he's not counting on is Barry's determination to keep a promise, and protect an ally. This may not be as simple as he hopes.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Soldier's Heart](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7277884) by [Miko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miko/pseuds/Miko), [NocturnalRites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NocturnalRites/pseuds/NocturnalRites). 



> As _Soldier's Heart_ is still far from finished, and NocturnalRites wasn't an author on this story, this may eventually be non-compliant with SH. That's why I've marked it as 'inspired by' rather than as part of that series. For now, the only things you need to know are that Steve  & Felicity are together, and Steve has met Barry through Felicity. 
> 
> This is a direct continuation of _Cold Winter_ but contains no major spoilers other than the relationship between Len and Bucky. You don't need to have read that one to understand this, but it would give a lot of background context.

The rooms set aside in Stark Tower for the newly re-formed Avengers were very nice. _Too_ nice, at least for Steve. Words like 'opulent' and 'decadent' kept coming to mind, though from the things Bruce and Clint were saying, the suites weren't actually over the top by modern standards. It was just that Steve was used to - and preferred - simpler surroundings. 

Felicity kept nudging him to ask Tony for permission to 'redecorate' and make the space more his own. Steve couldn't help feeling like that would be like throwing Tony's generosity back in his face by saying it didn't suit him.

Also, he hadn't missed the way Felicity delighted in the ultra-soft sheets, the high-tech shower, and most especially, the insanely advanced computer system. If keeping the room as it was would tempt her to come visit him in New York more often, Steve would happily wallow in the lap of luxury.

Though, he did wish the tech gadgets held a _little_ less of her attention. She'd been glued to the holographic display when he'd left this morning for the mission briefing, and she appeared not to have budged in the hours since then. 

"Hey," he greeted her, setting the shield on its stand. "We still on for dinner, or are you busy?"

"Steve!" Felicity jumped out of her seat and all but flew across the room to throw her arms around him. "I did it! I broke it! I mean, Jarvis definitely helped, _god_ I wish I had one of him at home, but we broke it!"

"That's... good?" Usually breaking things wasn't cause for celebration, but she was clearly excited about whatever it was. He wrapped his hands around her waist and held her close, smiling down at her with bemused affection.

"It's not good, it's fantastic!" Felicity’s whole face was alight with glee in a way that highlighted her beauty, inner and outer. "I found him! I mean, not him, exactly. Sorry, I wish that was true. But a lead, finally, a concrete lead. I know where he _was_ , just a few months ago!"

It took a moment for Steve to wade through that and pick the sense out of it. He was still learning to follow what Sam had dubbed her 'babble-speak'. She _did_ make sense, if you could follow her train of thought. It was just that the train jumped the track a lot as her brilliant mind raced ahead of the crawling pace of physical communication. 

When Steve finally made the connection, his heart stuttered in his chest. "Bucky? You cracked the HYDRA code and found a lead on him?"

The contents of the massive database she'd downloaded from Zola’s HYDRA faction in Vegas had been eluding her grasp for weeks, so breaking the encryption was indeed cause for joy. But if HYDRA had eyes on Bucky as recently as a few months ago, they were a lot closer on his best friend's trail than Steve was.

She sobered, elation turning to worry. "Do you want the good news first, or the bad news?"

"Lay the worst on me, and hopefully the good will make up for it." Steve braced himself, dreading what she might say. There were so very many forms that 'worst' could take.

"They captured him," she said, confirming his darkest fear. "Briefly! Very briefly. A few hours, briefly."

Well, that wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. Steve's mood lifted. "So he's free again? They didn't have a chance to wipe him?"

"Thaaaat's actually the bad news." She winced, and squeezed him tight in a hug. "The record says they did wipe him, and put him back in cryo to boot."

Frowning, Steve tried to make sense of that. "Then how did he break out a few hours later?"

"He didn't. He was _broken_ out." Felicity's eyes shone. "The base was attacked by metahumans, and the majority of HYDRA’s STRIKE and security forces were killed or injured, before they disappeared into the dawn with Bucky. HYDRA has no idea where he might be, now."

"He has allies." That was potentially the best news Steve had heard in a long time. But who? Who would be helping the Winter Soldier to stay free of HYDRA, if not Steve? Who had the power and resources to be able to sweep through and destroy an entire HYDRA base, for that matter? 

Darkness descended again. Sometimes Steve wished it wasn't so easy for him to see _every_ possible angle of a battle plan, including the worst ones. "It could be that a different HYDRA faction stole him from the first one. We know they're splintered all to hell right now. Why do you say metahumans did it?"

"An anti-Enhancement field was deployed, so the attackers definitely had powers. Nobody was left to say what exactly happened, but they found ice all over the base."

"Ice?" Steve blinked. 

"Also," Felicity continued, her eyes alight again, "the base in question is only a few hours outside Central City, and that's where they caught Bucky in the first place. So, metahumans."

"Central!" Steve's heart pounded. It was the first real, concrete lead he'd had. Better yet, he hadn't heard any rumours of metahumans in HYDRA - yet - so it probably meant Bucky's unknown allies weren't from another faction. "He won't still be there, no way he'd go back to a place where he'd been picked up once already. But maybe we can find whoever broke him out, and they'd have a better idea where to look next."

"I bet I know who could tell us which metahumans might have ice powers like that, and where to find them." Felicity grinned at him.

"Flash and his team." Everything was coming together in the best possible way. The good news _had_ outweighed the bad. He hated it that Bucky had been wiped again, and it meant Steve’s chances of convincing his friend to come with him had dropped significantly. But even with the wipe, Bucky hadn't returned to HYDRA like a good asset should, and that meant Steve might be able to wake him up again.

Hopefully without almost dying at his friend's hands, this time.

"I need to call Barry." He paused, and shook his head. "No, damn it, I need to be _in_ Central. If there is a lead, I need to follow it as quickly as possible. This is too sensitive for phones, no matter how secure."

"So what are you waiting for?" Felicity shoved playfully at his chest, though she made no actual attempt to break free of his hold. "I thought you'd be out the door five minutes ago, honestly."

"But you came all the way across the country to see me, and you've only got a few days." Steve really didn't want to lose that time together. They didn't get nearly enough of it, pulled in opposite directions by their respective duties. 

Though, honestly, he wasn't sure even getting to be with her every day would feel like 'enough'. 

"What makes you think you’re going without me?" Her smile turned sly, and a familiar heated look crept into her eyes. "Though, it’s too early in that time zone for Barry to be doing rounds as the Flash, yet. We could spare a little time for me to welcome you home from work."

"God, I love you." He could never say it often enough, and he loved the way she melted against him when he did say it. He leaned down and kissed her, short but fierce, then scooped her into his arms and carried her to the bed.

Felicity was already the best thing that had ever happened to him. Now she was going to give him his best friend back, too.

* * *

It was almost 22:00 hours when Steve and Felicity made it to STAR Labs, but he wasn't worried. After dark was when the Flash tended to be the most active, since that was also when most of the criminals came out to terrorize the city. Felicity had been to the Labs before, and she led him around to a back door marked ‘Employees Only’, which opened easily when she pulled on it.

“Seriously?” Rolling her eyes, she sighed. “How many times do people have to walk in on them before they upgrade their security - and start locking the door?”

“This happens often?” Steve asked as he followed her down the hall to an elevator.

“Every time I come here. I mean, I guess with all the combined tech and metahuman powers they’ve got, it’s not like a break-in would cause them problems, but still.” She laughed. 

This was his first trip to the Flash's home base, though Natasha had once spent a few days liaising between the hero's team and SHIELD. Steve looked around curiously as he entered the main room. There were computers and equipment everywhere, monitors all over the desks and walls, most of it lit up and flashing. 

“Cap! Felicity!” Cisco Ramon jumped to his feet, open package of twizzlers spilling across the desk in front of him. “Hey, what are you doing here? And how did you get in?” Felicity gave him a significant look, and he blushed. “Okay, I’m starting to blame Barry for this. I don’t think he stops long enough to lock the door when he runs out of here.”

“I do so!” Barry’s voice came from a speaker on Cisco’s desk. “I think. Uh… most of the time? Did you say Steve and Felicity are here?”

One of the screens showed a satellite map of the city, and a streak of light tracked the Flash's path as he ran. It was now headed straight for STAR Labs, and two seconds later Barry skidded to a halt in front of Steve, grinning.

"Hey! Good to see you." Barry pushed his cowl back. "How come you didn't call ahead? Oh, crap, did I not give you my number? Felicity has it, though."

"We’re worried about security,” Felicity told them before Steve could. “I mean, Cisco and I can certainly set up a secure line, but this is beyond top secret and we can’t take any risks. _Anything_ can be hacked." 

Steve nodded. "HYDRA still has a lot of ears to the ground, and I imagine both Stark Tower and STAR Labs would be potential places of interest for them." 

They were almost certainly monitoring Steve closely, because they had to know he was searching for their lost weapon every bit as hard as they were. The last thing Steve wanted to do was lead them to Bucky. That was the whole reason he'd sought out Diggle's help in the first place. He'd thought the grandson of one of his best Commandos might not be on their radar, but willing to help.

Turned out Dig was part of Team Arrow and very _much_ on HYDRA's watchlist, but at least it had led him to Felicity.

"HYDRA?" Barry's eyes went wide, and his grin faded. "You think they're in Central?"

"I know they were, a few months ago." Steve's jaw clenched, and he had to consciously loosen it. "Felicity finally cracked their database, and they ran an op here to retrieve an AWOL asset. He was then broken out by what appears to have been a metahuman attack, leaving ice all over the base. I'm hoping you can point me in the direction of who that metahuman might be."

Barry and Cisco exchanged an uneasy glance. Cisco had resumed his seat, and started tapping a pen against the edge of his keyboard. "We don't have any metas who specifically wield ice, that I’m aware of. Weather Wizard can control snow and hail as part of his powers, though."

"Are you wanting the meta to point you in the direction of the base?" Barry crossed his arms over his chest. “We could probably get that info for you, without going through anyone else.”

Steve wasn't anywhere near as good at reading body language as Natasha, but even he could see the two men were distinctly uncomfortable with this discussion.

He narrowed his eyes at them, suspicious. "No, I'm hoping whoever it is can tell me where that escaped asset might be. Maybe you've even heard rumours about him. He's got a version of my serum, so Enhanced strength, speed, and reflexes. He's also got a metal arm with a star on it, but I imagine he's keeping that covered."

Another exchanged glance, this one dismayed, and Steve lost any doubt that there was something fishy going on. He decided not to give them a chance to prevaricate again. "If you know something about the Winter Soldier, _please_ , tell me. I've got to find him, and I've got to find him fast. Before HYDRA does."

Biting his lip, Barry considered the plea for a moment. Finally he caved, with clear reluctance. "Look, the Soldier has been keeping his head down and staying out of trouble. He hasn't hurt anyone." Cisco snorted, and Barry winced. "Okay, he hasn't killed anyone where it wasn't self-defense. Mostly."

"He _was_ in Central. Yes! Owned it!” Felicity did a victory pump of her fist, then paused, eyes wide. “Wait, are you saying he’s still here?"

"I don't want Central to turn into a war zone like New York or D.C." Barry dropped his arms, his stance turning from defensive to determined. "This is _my_ city, and I'm the one who knows how best to protect it. I promised the Soldier that as long as he doesn't cause trouble here, I’d help him keep HYDRA and the Avengers off his back. Please, I'm begging you. Leave him alone. That's all he wants."

"You've _talked_ to him?" Steve barely managed to stop himself from grabbing Barry by the shoulders and shaking, to see if it would make more information fall out. "Is he okay? Does he remember anything?"

All this time Steve had kept his search for Bucky on a strictly need-to-know basis, hoping it would help him hide his progress from HYDRA. Apparently, he really should have been asking everyone he knew for help, because Barry had known where Bucky was for months.

"Thaaaat's... not the reaction I was expecting." Barry looked bewildered, brow creased and head tilted as he stared at Steve. "You sound worried about him."

"Of course I'm worried about him, he's my best friend." Steve shook his head, disheartened. "Does Bucky really believe I'm _hunting_ him?"

It hurt that Bucky would rely on Barry instead of Steve, and it hurt more that his friend refused to even talk to him, but the worst pain by far was Bucky believing Steve would ever turn on him.

"Whoa, whoa, back up." Cisco's eyes had gone very wide. "Are you saying that James is _James Buchanan Barnes_?"

"Bucky Barnes?" Barry was no less shocked. "The Winter Soldier is Bucky Barnes?"

"I need to find him so I can help him. Keep him safe, give him whatever backup and support he needs. And most especially, make sure he knows I'm _on his side_." Steve pleaded with the two of them, more than willing to beg if it was the only way to save Bucky.

Sighing, Barry rubbed at the back of his neck with one hand. "I don't know how to reach him directly. I'd have to go through Snart, but I'm not sure how to reach him, either. Used to be if I needed to find him I'd hang around at Saints and Sinners until he showed up, but I don't think he's been going there much since James joined the Rogues."

"Snart?” Felicity repeated, cocking her head. “As in, Captain Cold? The guy I helped you with, who stole the freeze ray Cisco made to slow Barry down in case he turned out to be a threat?”

"Cold gun, yeah." Cisco nodded. "Snart kinda kidnapped me to make repairs when James' arm got damaged by a metal-bending metahuman, and that's what started the whole thing."

“Okay, if Snart has Bucky, that’s not a great sign.” Felicity gnawed on her lower lip. “I mean, better than if HYDRA had him, obviously, but still.”

“Why is that bad?” Steve wanted to know.

“This guy may not be a metahuman, but he’s as cold-blooded as they come,” Felicity told him, her eyes dark. “He kills without hesitation, and without remorse. He overturned a commuter train to test the Flash’s speed, see if he was fast enough to save them all.”

Yeah, that wasn’t good. Just because this Snart guy wasn’t actually HYDRA, it didn’t necessarily follow that he wasn’t using and abusing Bucky. Steve worried that his friend might be suggestible, maybe even controllable, if someone was ruthless enough to use what HYDRA had done to break him. Especially after Bucky had been wiped again. It sounded like Snart was definitely that ruthless.

“It’s not as bad as you’re thinking,” Barry hastened to assure him. “What Felicity’s talking about is the first time I ever encountered him. Things have changed since then. A lot. Our relationship with Snart and his Rogues is… complicated.”

“You can say that again,” Cisco muttered. 

“The Rogues are kind of a special case where criminals are concerned,” Barry explained. “We've got an uneasy truce, based on a deal I made with Snart that he and his crew don't hurt anyone on their heists, he doesn't tell the whole city my identity, and we leave them to be dealt with by the police the normal way. I don’t trust Snart, I wouldn’t say that at all, but he’s actually helped us a few times in the past.”

“You worked with him?” Felicity stared at Barry, then at Cisco. “Didn’t he torture your brother to get you to tell him Flash’s identity?”

Sighing, Cisco slumped in his chair. “Yeah, haven’t forgiven him for that, and I’m not going to. Like Barry said, it’s complicated. Reluctantly, I’ll admit that Cold has recently displayed a redeeming quality or two. Maybe.”

“So why did HYDRA employ the anti-meta field?” Felicity’s brow furrowed. “Did they mistake the cold gun for ice powers?” 

"Actually, that was because I was there," Barry admitted. "When James was taken, Snart came to us because he knew we'd have the resources to find him - and being the good guys, we wouldn't refuse to help.”

Nothing any of them had said was making Steve less concerned about this Snart guy’s quality of character. If anything, it felt all the more urgent that he rescue Bucky. "So how do we find them?" Steve asked, struggling to keep it from becoming a demand.

"Snart keeps finding ways to hide the cold gun’s signature, and unfortunately right now is one of those times." Cisco tapped against his keyboard again, thoughtful this time instead of nervous. "Besides, if we come crashing in on the Rogues, they might take exception and start shooting."

"Hey Cisco. You don't have Lisa's phone number, do you?" Barry asked.

"What? No. Why would I have Golden Glider's number?" Cisco protested. Barry grinned at him, a sly expression, and Cisco turned red. "Yeah, okay, I wouldn't _object_ to having her number. But I don't."

It wasn't hard to read between the lines and figure out that Cisco had a bit of a thing for this particular criminal, whoever she was. Steve turned to face him squarely. "Please, if you have _any_ way to reach Bucky, I promise I'm not gonna judge you for it."

"I swear! Look, I'll prove it." Cisco pulled out his phone and started scrolling through it, presumably looking at his contact list. He froze, and the oddest expression of elated disbelief crept over his face. " _Why_ do I have Lisa Snart's phone number?"

"Knowing her, she picked the phone out of your pocket, put her number in, then returned it before you ever knew it was gone," Barry laughed. "Probably her way of testing to see how serious you were about dating her."

"That's not fair! How was I supposed to know she'd do that?" Cisco waved the phone frantically. 

"Fellas? Any chance we could get back to the matter at hand?" Steve raised an eyebrow at both of them, trying not to be too impatient. Felicity tangled their fingers together and squeezed, silent reassurance.

"Right. Yeah. Sorry." Cisco put the phone down on the desk and gestured them closer, setting it to speakerphone. It rang three times, then picked up.

"Cisco," a sultry, feminine voice purred. "Finally found the balls to call me for a date, did you? It's been months, honey. You're going to need to do a lot of grovelling."

Cisco sputtered, apparently incapable of a response. Sighing, Barry picked up the thread of conversation. "Don't blame him, Lisa. Did you really think he'd be able to follow your twisty thinking and figure it out?"

"Ooh, is that the Flash?" She sounded wickedly delighted. "You do realize I'm going to record this, and analyze your voice to help figure out who you really are."

Pausing, Barry looked at Cisco and Felicity with an uncertain expression. "Can she do that?"

"Is it possible to do? Yes." Cisco spread his hands. "Does she actually have the tech to do it? _Probably_ not?"

"I'm going to assume this is a business call, if Flash is involved." Lisa gave a theatrical sigh. "Now you've got even _more_ ass-kissing to do, Cisco. What can I do for you boys?"

"I need to talk to James," Barry said. "I didn't have any way to reach him, so I was wondering if you could pass a message to him for me?"

"Naughty, naughty, Flash. Trying to go behind my brother's back?" Lisa made a tsking sound. "What do you want with Jamie?"

" _Jamie_?" Cisco stared at the phone. "You call the world's most dangerous killer by a cutsey nickname?"

"Why not? He's practically my brother-in-law." She sounded amused. "He likes it - though _you_ probably don't want to try it. I repeat, why do you want to talk to him instead of Lenny?"

Brother-in-law? Steve was riveted by that one word. Bucky had gotten _married_? No, she'd said 'practically'. Which still meant Bucky was in a serious romantic involvement, presumably with another sister of Snart’s. If Bucky was capable of that level of emotional attachment, it was the best sign yet that he was truly recovering from the horrors HYDRA had put him through.

It also might explain why Snart would go to such lengths to rescue him from HYDRA. Loyalty to family was a trait Steve could appreciate, even in a criminal. Maybe they weren’t taking advantage of Bucky after all.

"This is a personal issue," Barry explained. "Not Rogues business. Please, will you just tell him I need to speak with him, urgently?"

"I'll pass the message along," Lisa agreed. "No promises on him getting back to you. So, are you going to ask me for that date or not, Cisco?"

"I, uh." Cisco snatched up the phone and turned the speakerphone off. "That's probably a discussion we should have in private, so let me just..." He turned and all but bolted out the door into the hall.

Restless, frustrated that he was so close to his goal but unable to take any further steps for the moment, Steve fought the urge to pace. Instead he turned a curious look on Barry. "You'd be okay with the idea of him dating a criminal?"

“ _He’s_ okay with dating the sister of the guy who kidnapped him and tortured his brother?” Felicity added, staring after Cisco.

"Like I said, the Rogues are complicated." Barry shrugged. "Even at their worst, Lisa was never as bad as Leonard. Besides, can you two really point fingers? The Arrow killed a lot of people.”

“Bad guys!” Felicity objected. “And he stopped doing it!”

“And the Black Canary? She was part of the League of Assassins,” Barry persisted. “Not to mention, how about Black Widow? Don’t get me wrong, I like Natasha, but I’ve seen some of the decrypted SHIELD files about her history. People _can_ change. I believe in second chances.”

Steve couldn’t deny that Natasha had done some truly terrible things, before she’d defected to SHIELD. Far worse than Snart and his Rogues ever could have. “People only change that much when they have an incredibly compelling reason,” he countered. “A deal with you not to hurt people doesn’t seem like enough.”

“Honestly I think James has been a corrupting influence on them.” Barry grinned. “Corrupting by _their_ standards, by which I mean I was actually willing to work with them to take down a difficult metahuman recently. I'd trust James at my back in a fight. I won’t say Snart will ever be a force for good, but he’s not nearly as bad as he wants people to believe he is."

If Bucky had regained enough of himself to be someone Barry could trust, maybe the situation wasn't a total disaster. Steve tried hard to hold on to that silver lining. 

A sharp beep cut through the air, and Barry pulled out his phone. "Text message from an unknown number." Frowning, he hit a button, and his eyes lit up. "Time and location, ten minutes from now. Looks like he wants to meet at a dive bar the Rogues frequent, we've used it as a kind of neutral ground in the past."

"Is ten minutes enough time to get there?" It seemed unlikely that anywhere in the sparsely populated industrial district surrounding STAR Labs would be a dive bar.

"Not by car, but he’s expecting the Flash, and I don't drive much these days." Barry grinned. "The ten minutes must be so James has time to arrive, not us. You willing to let me carry you?"

"Absolutely." Now Steve was glad he'd come in civvies, wearing jeans and a button-down with his leather jacket to cover the shield in its harness on his back. If he walked in as Captain America, there was no doubt Bucky would bolt.

He glanced at Felicity, but she was already shaking her head with a smile. “I’ll stay and keep Cisco company. This is between you and Bucky. You can introduce me later.”

“You bet I will.” Steve kissed her briefly to show his appreciation for her understanding. “Thanks, sweetheart.”

 _So close_. Ten minutes, and he would finally be able to talk to Bucky. Now he had to hope he could convince his best friend that Steve only wanted to help him - and that Bucky should accept that help.


	2. Chapter 2

'Dive bar' was an accurate description. The dim lighting inside Saints and Sinners was probably a blessing, covering some of the unidentifiable stains on the floor, the worst of the cracks in the fake leather seating at the booths, and the rough edges of the patrons who lingered at the bar or bent over the pool tables.

Eagerly, Steve scanned the room, but there was no sign of Bucky. Were they too early? It was ten minutes exactly since Barry had received the text, but maybe it had taken longer to travel than Bucky expected.

"Oh, damn it," Barry muttered, and grimaced. "It's not James, it's Snart. I should have expected that. Well, we'll just have to convince him to let us talk to James."

He headed for a booth in the back corner, where a man in a heavy blue jacket sat dragging a french fry through a puddle of ketchup. Steve followed, trying not to read too much into the bait and switch. After all, he was doing the same thing, showing up when only the Flash was supposed to be there.

That was different, though. It felt like a bad sign that Snart was gatekeeping Bucky so tightly, refusing to let Bucky decide for himself whether he wanted to talk to Flash about something personal. Judging by Barry's resigned reaction, the controlling behaviour was typical of Snart.

He studied the man in the booth. Tall, probably a little over six feet, roughly in his mid-forties. He appeared Caucasian at first glance, but his facial bone structure and a certain quality of tan in his skin suggested he had some Black ancestors not so far back. His hair was buzzed close to his scalp, and the salt and pepper colour gave it a frosted effect that suited his persona as Captain Cold. 

There was a lean, dangerous air about him. Though he seemed relaxed and off his guard, Steve was certain he was aware of everything going on around him. Not a man you wanted to meet in a dark alley.

"My, my, Barry." Dropping the fry, Snart leaned back in his seat and gave them both a sardonic look. "Lisa was right, you're being uncharacteristically sneaky tonight. Breaking a promise, I'm disappointed in you."

"I'm not breaking my promise," Barry insisted, sliding into the booth across from Snart. Steve came to a halt beside the table, uncertain whether he should sit as well. 

"Really? Because leading James into an ambush by Captain America definitely strikes me as a breach of your promise to help him stay away from the Avengers." Snart raised an eyebrow at Steve. “Did you think I wouldn’t recognize you?”

"I'm not here as Captain America," Steve replied, refusing to let the man rile him. "I'm here as Steve Rogers, and this is not an ambush. Call it an intervention, if you must."

"You wanna deal with my Rogues, you go through me." The smile Snart sported was surface-deep only, and his eyes were hard. "If James wanted to talk to you, it's not as if you're hard to find. Instead, by forcing the issue, you've spooked him. He won't feel safe here anymore. Might even bolt for the hills. What gives you the right to strongarm him into facing you?"

Snart didn't seem at all surprised that Steve Rogers might want to talk to 'James', and his words made it pretty clear that Bucky knew the truth as well, and had made a deliberate choice not to seek Steve out.

Barry seemed to reach the same conclusion as Steve. "Wait, did you already know James' real identity?"

"Of course I did," Snart scoffed. "I know everything I can about all my people. And I'm not going to sit back and let you scare him away from the life he's made for himself through literal blood, sweat, and tears."

Taking a deep breath, Steve forced himself to stay calm. "If Bucky believes I would hunt him, try to capture him, then he doesn't have all the information he needs to make the decision whether or not to avoid me. All I want is five minutes with him. No tricks, no traps. If he never wants to see me again after that, then..." He swallowed hard. "That's his decision. But I will never give up on him."

"So give me the five minute spiel, and I'll pass it along." Snart shrugged, unmoved by Steve's words. "If he wants to reach out in response, he will."

"Absolutely not." Steve crossed his arms and glared. "I have no reason to believe you'd pass it on, if you felt it might result in you losing what I presume is a powerful asset on your team. And frankly, I don't see where his personal life is any of your damn business."

For some reason that made Barry cough into his hand, like he was embarrassed or covering a laugh. Steve glanced at him, and Barry grabbed one of the water glasses on the table, hiding his face behind it as he drank.

Snart appeared thoroughly amused. "Well, you certainly live up to your stubborn reputation. I can see you're not going to budge, or go away. Don’t say I didn’t give it my best shot. James?"

Confused, Steve looked at him, waiting for the rest of whatever the sentence would be. Instead there was a long pause, and Snart frowned. "Get your ass out here, or you're sleeping on the couch for a week."

"Whose side are you on?"

The voice behind him was painfully familiar, for all that it was gruff and low instead of smooth and charming. Steve turned and there he was, only a foot away. 

Bucky was dressed in layers of hoodies to hide his arm, hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans, and a ball cap pulled low to shadow his face. He was glaring at Snart with a distinctly wounded expression, as if the man had betrayed him.

"Bucky?" Steve breathed out, hardly daring to believe. Disguise or not, he was _certain_ Bucky hadn’t been in the room a moment before.

Snart stood from the booth, and gestured for Bucky to take his place. "I'm on your side, James. As always - even when you don't like what that means." Snart's tone was playful. 

Still Bucky didn't move, his head down, refusing to look Steve in the eyes. He did flick an uncomfortable, reluctant glance Steve's way, and the wariness stabbed Steve straight to the heart.

Moving closer, right up into Bucky's space, Snart poked his chest with a finger. He kept his voice low, probably intending his words only for Bucky, but Steve's hearing was good enough to catch them. "You have many flaws, James, but being a coward has never been one of them. Don't start now."

Bucky's head came up and he stared at Snart incredulously. Snart raised an eyebrow at him, and Steve sensed significant shared history in their unspoken conversation. Finally Bucky sighed, and slid into the seat Snart had vacated.

"Come on, Scarlet." Snart jerked his head at the bar. "Let's leave these two to chat, and you and I will get a drink."

"I'm _not_ paying for yours," Barry said, in a hasty way that suggested there was some history there, as well.

As they headed away, Steve took Barry's former spot, intent on Bucky. His friend was staring at the scarred tabletop as if it held the secrets to the universe, and the tightly-wound tension in his muscles suggested he was right on the edge of a fight-or-flight reaction.

Where the hell did he start? Steve cleared his throat, and figured it was probably best to begin with the very basics. "Do you know who I am?"

"Steve Rogers. Captain America." Bucky's voice was rough, and he still didn't look up. "Your mom's name was Sarah. You used to wear newspapers in your shoes."

That was not the kind of detail Bucky could have picked up from reading articles or websites about him. His mom's name, maybe, but not the part about his perpetually worn-through shoes. Steve's heart lifted. "You do remember me."

To his dismay, Bucky shook his head. "Sort of." He finally raised his gaze, expression nervous and... apologetic? As if he was sorry for the pain his denial caused Steve. "It's all like that, bits and pieces with no connections. Sometimes I don't even know who a memory is about. Didn't remember your mom's name until it came out of my mouth."

That was unfortunate, but probably not surprising. It was a miracle Bucky had anything left at all of the man he'd been before HYDRA. Steve decided he would take it as a good sign. "Did you really think I was trying to capture you?"

"At first, yeah." Bucky sighed, with a soul-deep weariness that made Steve ache in sympathy. "Later, after I went to the museum and saw the displays, I realized you wouldn't have let me nearly kill you without fighting back, if fighting was what you wanted to do."

He must be talking about the Smithsonian exhibit on Captain America. "Why didn't you come to me for help, once you figured out I would give it?"

"I wasn't ready. I'm _not_ ready." Bucky's eyes were full of anguish. "You want me to be him. Bucky Barnes. Your best friend. I'm not that guy anymore, and I might never be again. I started as nobody, and I'm building myself from scratch. I need to decide who _I_ want me to be, before I let anybody else tell me who I _should_ be. Even you."

"I would never..." Steve started, but Bucky cut him off with a sharp look.

"You wouldn't mean to. It wouldn't be deliberate, or malicious. But anything more like I used to be would feel 'right' to you, and you'd see it as me 'getting better'." Bucky shook his head. "Not everything in my new life is something I would have embraced, before. I'm sure of that much. That's _my_ choice. Or are you seriously gonna tell me you're fine with me deciding to be a bank robber? You aren't planning to try to talk me out of it, for my own good? Because it's the right thing to do?"

The shot hit home. Bucky being a thief felt incredibly wrong, to Steve. Not that they'd never stolen anything, but that was during the war, from the enemy. Or, as Steve had done recently, in emergency situations. It wasn't at all the same thing. "Of course I'm gonna tell you that you should stop being a criminal, Buck. I'd tell anyone the same thing, it's got nothing to do with you being brainwashed."

Bucky tilted his head, acknowledging the point. "That's just one example. There's others. Besides, I can't _decide_ not to be a criminal. I could decide not to commit any more criminal acts, but I'll always be a wanted man. The whole world is hunting the Winter Soldier now that my existence has been exposed. Either to lock me up for heinous war crimes, or to find a way to use me as their own weapon."

"You didn't do those things," Steve protested. Bucky’s response was a 'gimme a break' look, and Steve sighed and amended the words. "You didn't _choose_ to do those things. You can't be held responsible for them."

"Sure I can. All they have to do is not care about why I did it, and most of them won't." Bucky shrugged. "You know it's true. And that's the other big reason I never turned to you."

"You thought I'd turn you in?"

"No, I knew you _wouldn't_ ," Bucky declared, thoroughly confusing Steve. Seeing the bewildered look, he elaborated. "You're already skating on thin ice, Steve. The damage in D.C. made a lotta people unhappy with you. That team you're building, the Avengers, they're either global scale vigilantes or a private army for Stark, depending on how you look at it, and that's making people unhappy, too.”

It was heartening that Bucky had been watching him closely enough to know what he’d been up to, but Steve didn’t understand why the Avengers was a reason for Bucky to avoid him, if his friend didn’t believe Steve was trying to capture him. Did he fear the others wouldn’t accept him, as a former HYDRA member?

“Since when did I ever care what other people thought of me?” Steve argued. “I’ll do the right thing whether they like it or not.”

“That’s my _point_ ,” Bucky retorted. “If you shelter a man who's high on every country’s most wanted list and try to protect me from any and all consequences for my actions, it's gonna bring the hounds of hell down on your head. The world needs you too much where you are, doing what you're doing. You _can't_ give HYDRA the excuse to jump on you, shut you down."

That was a surprisingly well thought out answer, and an issue Steve hadn't really considered. He didn't care what people thought about him saving his friend, any more than he'd cared about the disciplinary action he'd expected to receive in the 40s when he'd gone AWOL to rescue Bucky and the 107th. That time, he'd saved hundreds of Allied soldiers and been praised for it, instead of punished.

This time, he probably wouldn't be so lucky. Also unlike in the 40s, the fallout wouldn't only be on him. It would be on the rest of the Avengers as well, and might even create an opening for HYDRA to try to claim they were some kind of 'harmless' organization that he'd committed a hate crime against, no different from someone bombing a group of neo-Nazis. 

He was pretty sure Bucky's first answer was the real root of the problem, but that didn't make the second one less of a valid issue.

Still. "There's nothing I can say to convince you to come back with me?" he pleaded. "To let me help you?"

"You can help me best by not breaking my cover," Bucky insisted. "I'm not leaving Central, not unless HYDRA forces me to. Even if the rest of it wasn’t an issue, I won't leave the Rogues. I won't leave _Len_."

Something about the way he said Snart's name tugged at Steve. Suddenly, Lisa Snart's comment about Bucky being her brother-in-law had a new possible interpretation. "Wait. That crack he made about you sleeping on the couch, that was literal? You're stepping out with him?"

"That a problem?" Any softness that had crept into Bucky's expression during their discussion vanished in an instant. Suddenly he was hard, dangerous, and every inch the Winter Soldier, a hair trigger away from attacking. 

It took Steve a moment to realize Bucky thought he was reacting negatively to the fact that his friend’s lover was a man. "No! Of course not. Buck, it doesn’t bother me. I'm just surprised."

As fast as it had come, the hardness was gone. Replacing it was bewilderment. "It doesn't upset you? Am I remembering wrong? Len says it ain't a big deal anymore, but I thought, back then..."

Realizing where the confusion had come from, Steve sighed. "It used to be a problem. A serious one," he admitted. "Could get you arrested for indecency. But you and I grew up in a rough neighbourhood. There were a lot of mob bars around full of pansy acts, and the fairies liked to hang out by the docks, trying to pick up fellas."

"Len says I ain't allowed to use those words any more." There was something that might almost have been the quirk of a smile on Bucky's lips. "Read me the fucking riot act for it."

Steve grimaced. "Yeah, I know. I _don't_ when I'm talking about it in modern context, but it's hard to think about back then and not use the words we did at the time. Point is, we knew plenty of fellas like that, and I can't say that I ever felt they were any worse than everyone else, when it came right down to it. Never understood why it was anybody's business what two adults got up to in the privacy of their own bedroom. Or why love should ever be evil."

Mollified, Bucky nodded. "Was I... like that, before? I remember dancing with gals, but not any guys. Len asked once, but I couldn't answer him."

Until that moment, Steve hadn't truly realized how _much_ Bucky had lost of himself. Memories, yes, but this was deeper than that. This was part of his very being, something as basic and ingrained as who he was attracted to. No wonder he felt like he could never be the same man again, that he had to rebuild himself from nothing. 

Steve cleared his throat. "Not that I know of. If you did look at fellas that way, I never saw it, and you never told me. Apparently these days it's pretty well acknowledged you can be interested in both. Maybe the girls made you happy enough that you never bothered looking at the guys, since you'd have gotten in so much trouble for it?"

Thoughtful, Bucky nodded. "Yeah. Okay. Feels like that might be right. When I got with Len, I didn't know _what_ the hell I was doing, just that I wanted to do it."

That made sense. If Bucky had resisted his interest in men, maybe hadn't even acknowledged it to himself, but then forgot that wanting men was any kind of problem... when he did encounter a guy he was attracted to, he wouldn't have known there was any reason not to pursue it.

"Y'know, I'm pretty much the only one that can answer those kinds of questions for you," Steve pointed out. He didn't want to push too hard and scare Bucky off, but he couldn't bring himself to give up yet. "Is there really no room at all in your new life for your best friend?"

The hesitation in Bucky's eyes said he wasn't as firm about the matter as he pretended to be. Steve felt bad for being happy that his friend was torn, but he couldn't help it.

"If you ever _need_ me, I'll be there for you," Bucky said, soft but intense. "Til the end of the line. No matter what. But HYDRA's got to be tracking you. If you communicate with me, they could catch wind of it. If you keep coming to Central, they'll start questioning the reason."

"Why?" Steve sat up straight, excited by the opening Bucky had given him. "Why would they question it? The Flash is a known ally of mine. Barry and his team are good friends with Felicity. I've got all the reason in the world to drop in to Central on a regular basis."

"Felicity?"

Despite himself, Steve blushed, and felt a sappy grin curve his lips. "My girl. She's incredible, Buck. I want you to be able to meet her."

Bucky didn't smile, but his eyes lit up in a way they hadn't before. "Bout time, punk. Took you long enough."

"Yeah, I know." That casual 'punk' made Steve happier than everything else that had happened today. He didn't think Bucky had done it on purpose, maybe didn't even realize he'd said it, but in some ways that made it all the more significant. "So? Why can't I come visit my well documented friends in Central, and then drop in on an extra one while I'm here?"

To his incredible relief, Bucky nodded. "I'd like that. Len was right, I shoulda talked to you weeks ago. I was scared, and avoiding it. I'm sorry. I know it hurt you."

"Snart said that?" 

"He's been nagging me about it," Bucky confirmed with a shrug. "Gonna be insufferable for a while, now that he was proven right. I'll have to find a way to take him down a few pegs."

 _Finally_ , Bucky smiled. It was a small one, a tiny tilt at the corners of his mouth, but it was a genuine smile. There was a look in his eyes that matched the way Snart had softened toward him earlier. 

That was all the evidence Steve needed. Snart wasn't using Bucky. He cared deeply for him, maybe even loved him. Most importantly, he was making Bucky genuinely happy.

For that, Steve would forgive the man damn near anything. Even being a criminal. 

"Guess we'd better bring him back over, so I can get to know him," he suggested, and Bucky's smile increased a notch. "Hell, I'll call Felicity to come out from STAR Labs. We can _finally_ have a decent double date."

That won him a snort of outright amusement, and Bucky stood to gesture for Snart and Barry to join them. As he sauntered over, Snart was indeed sporting an extremely self-satisfied smirk. "All good, James?"

The moment Snart was near enough, Bucky reached out and wound an arm around his waist, tugging him close. The casual gesture of affection reinforced Steve's certainty that there was a good, positive bond between them. 

"Wipe that smug look off your face, or I'll do it for you." Bucky nudged Snart with his hip, the threat carrying no heat. "Bad enough Lisa's always manipulating us both. Don't you start."

"Start?" Snart laughed. "You say that like I don't already have you wrapped around my little finger."

"Pretty sure you got that backward," Bucky teased, and his smile continued to grow.

Steve was smiling too. For the first time since he'd found out Bucky was alive, and the horrible things that had been done to his friend, he was truly able to believe that everything was going to turn out okay.


End file.
